' 


16H  7 


SPEECH 

OF 

HON.  PHILANDER  CHASE  KNOX 

IN  THE 

UNITED  STATES  SENATE 


MARCH  1,  1919 


CONSTITUTION  OF  LEAGUE 
OF  NATIONS 


WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE 
1919 

107883—10347 


SPEECH 


OF 

HON.  PHILANDER  CHASE  KNOX. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  LEAGUE  OF  NATIONS. 

Mr.  K N OX.  Mr.  President,  the  Official  Bulletin — printed 
daily  under  the  order  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States — has  published,  under  date  of  Friday,  February  14, 
1919,  and  under  the  title  “  Text  of  covenant  on  league  of 
nations,”  the  report  of  the  peace  conference  commission 
on  the  league  of  nations.  The  document  was  read  to  the 
plenary  session  by  the  President,  chairman  of  this  particu¬ 
lar  commission,  who  accompanied  his  reading  with  com¬ 
ments.  This  document  and  the  league  plan  which  it  out¬ 
lines,  in  so  far  as  they  can  be  understood,  may  include  so 
much  that  is  strange  to  our  traditional  foreign  policy,  con¬ 
trary  to  our  fundamental  principles  of  international  inter¬ 
course  and  conduct,  destructive  of  treaty  rights,  indis¬ 
pensable  to  the  safety  of  ourselves  and  other  nations  of  this 
hemisphere,  and  so  much  that  would  require — before  and 
in  order  that  it  could  become  operative — such  basic  changes 
in  our  Constitution  to  enable  us  to  make  the  necessary 
surrender  of  high  sovereign  rights  on  which  our  great  lib¬ 
erties  rest,  that  not  only  the  Senate,  which  in  due  time 
may  be  called  upon  to  advise  and  consent  to  the  ratifica¬ 
tion  of  the  plan,  but  the  entire  Congress  and  the  whole 
people  of  the  United  States  must  give  thereto  the  fullest 

and  most  mature,  careful,  and  calm  consideration.  The 

(2) 


107883—19347 


3 


submission  of  this  plan  for  adopton  will  constitute  for  our 
people  far  and  away  the  greatest  and  most  important  mat¬ 
ter  placed  before  them  since  the  Nation  was  founded.  We 
are  now  invited  to  assist  in  forming  and  become  a  part  of 
the  united  States  of  the  world. 

As  I  have  alreadv  stated,  the  document  which  we  have 
before  us  is,  in  its  present  form,  merely  the  report  of 
a  commission;  it  has  been  laid  on  the  conference  table 
at  plenary  session,  from  which,  as  Mr.  Clemenceau  has 
assured  the  members,  it  may  be  removed  for  debate, 
amendment,  and  adoption  or  rejection.  In  view  of  these 
facts,  we  might  well  forego  its  discussion  until  the  con¬ 
ference  in  plenary  session  has  adopted  it,  except  that  the 
report  itself  has  acquired  for  this  Nation  a  peculiar  sig¬ 
nificance  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  the  President  presided 
over  the  body  which  drafted  it;  that  he  participated  in 
the  proceedings  incident  to  the  drafting;  that  as  president 
of  the  commission  he  read  the  report  submitting  it  to  the 
plenary  session  of  the  conference;  that  he  indorsed  the 
document  and  therebv  committed  himself  as  National 

t/ 

Executive  to  it;  and  that  he  has  officially  assured,  in  his 
cable  to  the  members  of  the  Foreign  Eolations  Committees 
of  the  two  Houses  of  Congress,  that  there  are  good  reasons 
even  for  the  verbiage  of  the  document,  crude  as  that  is. 

By  way  of  clearing  the  ground  and  that  no  doubt  may 
exist  as  to  my  own  personal  attitude  on  war  and  the  pacific 
settlement  of  international  disputes,  I  crave  indulgence  at 
this  point  for  a  few  words  of  explanation  in  order  that 
such  negative  conclusions  as  I  may  reach  shall  not  be 
charged  to  unfriendliness  or  bias.  I  may,  in  the  first 
place,  observe  that  I  am,  and  always  have  been,  against 
war  and  all  its  attendant  woe,  misery,  horrors,  and  crime. 
In  common  with  all  Christians,  I  can  not  and  would  not 

107883—10347  ‘f 


i 


do  otherwise  than  condemn  it  in  terms  as  extravagant  as 
language  can  frame. 

Feeling  thus,  I  shall  at  any  and  all  times  do  my  utmost 
to  bring  into  the  world  a  reign  of  law,  of  order,  and  of 
universal  peace.  No  man  dreams  loftier  or  feels  more 
intensely  than  I  on  these  matters.  I  realize,  moreover, 
that  with  nations  as  with  individuals  sacrifice  brings 
growth,  moral  and  spiritual,  and,  further,  that  when  all 
is  said  and  done  the  moral  and  the  spiritual  things  are 
all  that  are  worth  while  in  life,  national  and  individual. 
I  am  willing,  therefore,  personally  to  sacrifice,  and  to  see 
my  country  sacrifice,  the  utmost  possible  to  the  establish¬ 
ment  of  peace  and  righteousness  in  the  world.  But  my 
country’s  sacrifice  counts  for  so  much  in  the  world  that, 
since  mere  sacrifice  itself  availeth  little,  I  wish  to  make 
sure  before  placing  our  national  offering  on  the  altar 
that,  when  the  fire  is  kindled  and  the  offering  is  burned, 
we  shall  have  measurably  and  proportionately  advanced 
the  cause  of  human  liberty  and  happiness.  It  is  in  this 
spirit  that  I  approach  the  discussion  of  the  present 
project. 

After  the  most  mature  deliberation  it  is  possible  for  me 
to  give,  I  am  convinced  that  you  may  place  the  case  as 
high  as  you  will,  yet  you  can  not  in  the  present  state  of 
society  spell  out  an  attainable  end  which  would  justify 
the  destruction  of  our  great  country  and  Government — 
the  greatest  democracy  of  all  recorded  time.  Our  liberties, 
our  free  institutions,  our  civilization,  traditions,  and  ideals 
are  all  worth  all  we  have  ever  given  to  get  them  and  all 
we  could  possibly  give,  even  to  the  point  of  extermination, 
to  preserve  them.  Conjure  in  your  mind,  if  you  can,  a 
world  without  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  without 
our  Constitution  and  free  institutions,  without  our  proc- 

.107883—19347 


lamations  of  emancipation  of  races  and  of  nations,  without 
this  Nation  itself,  which  all  these  things  have  builded  and 
made  mighty,  and  then  tell  me,  I  challenge  you,  what  is  in 
that  now  put  before  us  which  would  fill  in  terms  of  bless¬ 
ing — not  to  ourselves  but  to  the  world — the  gap  caused  by 
their  blotting  out.  The  world  has  nothing  more  precious 
for  man  to-day  and  for  the  myriad  generations  yet  unborn 
than  our  own  great  Government,  institutions,  and  people — • 
a  people  which,  without  the  obligation  of  treaty  or  alliance, 
without  thought  of  gain,  and  with  only  the  thought  of  pro¬ 
tecting  eternal  right,  put  on  the  full  accouterment  of  war 

-  9  i- 

and  went  to  battle  that  the  inalienable  human  rights  of 
life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness  might  still  have 
a  dwelling  place  among  men,  “  that  government  of  the 
people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people  might  not  perish 
from  the  earth.” 

Holding  our  Government  and  its  institutions  in  this 
fervent  reverence,  and  profoundly  averse  to  war  for  its 
own  sake,  I  must  for  myself  demand  that  any  plan  pro¬ 
posed  shall,  to  secure  my  support,  meet  these  simple  and 
reasonable  tests: 

Do  its  provisions  abolish  war  and  make  it  hereafter  im¬ 
possible  ?  For  I  would  be  willing  we  should  go  far  and  risk 
much  to  accomplish  this.  Do  its  provisions  strike  down 
our  Constitution  or  destroy  our  sovereignty  or  threaten 
our  national  independence  and  life  ?  For  if  the  plan  pro¬ 
posed  does  these  things,  then  it  must  receive  the  condemna¬ 
tion  of  every  loyal  citizen.  And  I  tell  you  here  in  all  sober¬ 
ness  that  these  matters  must  be  approached  by  all  of  us  in 
a  spirit  of  candid  fairness,  without  cavil,  bias,  or  partisan¬ 
ship,  for  our  fate  and  the  fate  of  the  world,  if  this  matter 
go  certainly  forward,  waits  upon  our  decision.  And  one 
word  further,  let  me  say,  if  we  are  to  go  forward  with 
this  plan  it  must  be  whole-heartedly  and  with  absolute 


6 

good  faith.  Neither  we  nor  those  who  represent  us  in  the 
league  bodies  must  trifle  with  our  sacred  plighted  word. 
For  weal  or  for  woe  we  must  stand  by  our  covenant.  We 
must  never  leave  in  our  history  the  taint  of  the  “  scrap  of 
paper. 9  ’ 

Having  thus  made  my  explanation,  I  proceed  to  the  plan 
itself,  which  I  shall  discuss  without  heat  or  color  and  with 
such  judicial  calm  and  fairness  as  I  am  able  to  bring  to 
my  command. 

Any  definite  and  precise  examination  or  criticism  of  the 
covenant  is  made  immeasurably  difficult  because  of  the 
looseness  of  expression  which  characterizes  the  document 
throughout ;  and,  while  I  shall  not  take  your  time  to  dis¬ 
cover  mere  matters  of  verbiage,  there  are  two  such  matters 
to  which  I  invite  your  attention,  because  they  relate  to 
matters  more  or  less  basic.  The  first  is  the  language  of 
article  1,  which  provides  that  u  the  action  of  the  high  con¬ 
tracting  parties  *  *  *  shall  be  effected  through  the 

instrumentality  of  meeting  of  a  body  of  delegates.”  This, 
as  a  matter  either  of  language  or  of  logic,  is  sheer  non¬ 
sense,  and  yet  this  article  purports  to  lay  down  one  of  the 
fundamental  precepts  of  the  plan.  One  is  tempted  to 
believe  on  casual  reading  that  this  is  mere  infelicity  of 
expression  and  that,  after  all,  the  meaning  may  be  plain  ; 
but  further  study  raises  a  serious  doubt,  because  it  is  not 
at  all  clear  whether  the  document  sets  up  one  or  two  op¬ 
erating  entities  for  its  enforcement,  as  the  following  ex¬ 
tracts  will  show : 

Article  1  prescribed  that  4  4  the  action  of  the  high  con¬ 
tracting  parties  under  the  terms  of  this  covenant  shall  be 
effected  through  the  instrumentality  of  meeting  of  a  body 
of  delegates  representing  the  high  contracting  parties,” 
and  not  of  the  league. 

107883—19347 


Article  11  declares  that  any  war  or  threat  of  war  is  a 

i/ 

matter  of  concern  to  the  league,  and  that  “  the  high  con¬ 
tracting  parties  reserve  the  right  to  take  any  action  that 
may  be  deemed  wise  and  effectual  to  safeguard  the  peace 
of  nations.”  Assuming  the  language  is  carefully  chosen, 
it  is  obvious  that  it  is  quite  impossible  for  the  league  it¬ 
self,  which  is  the  creature  of  the  high  contracting  parties, 
to  reserve  a  right  against  the  parties  creating  it,  and  yet 
it  is  quite  intelligible  and  accurate  to  say  that  the  high 
contracting  parties  who  create  the  league  reserve  a  right 
as  against  the  league  itself. 

Again,  in  the  last  paragraph  of  article  19  the  high  con¬ 
tracting  parties  “  agree  to  establish”  a  mandatory  com¬ 
mission,  which  shall,  inter  alia,  “  assist  the  league  in  in¬ 
suring  the  observance  of  the  terms  of  all  mandates.” 

Article  15  provides  that  in  case  a  dispute  “  between 
States,  members  of  the  league,”  has  not  been  submitted 
to  arbitration  under  article  13,  and  possibly  12,  then  “  the 
high  contracting  parties  agree  that  they  will  refer  the 
matter  to  the  executive  council,”  but  “either  party  to 
the  dispute  may  give  notice  of  the  existence  of  the  dispute 
to  the  secretary  general  ”  of  the  league. 

Under  article  18  “the  high  contracting  parties  agree 
that  the  league  shall  be  intrusted  with  general  supervision 
of  the  trade  in  arms  and  ammunitions,”  and  so  forth. 
It  would  be  absurd  here  to  substitute  “  league  ”  for  “  high 
contracting  parties,”  so  that  the  sentence  would  read, 
“The  league  agrees  that  the  league  shall  be  intrusted,” 
and  so  forth. 

Again,  in  article  21,  “  The  high  contracting  parties 
agree  that  provision  shall  be  made  through  the  instrumen¬ 
tality  of  the  league  to  secure  and  maintain  freedom  of 
transit  and  equitable  treatment  for  the  commerce  of  all 

107883—19347 


8 


States  members  of  the  league.”  Obviously  here  the  high 
contracting  parties  and  the  league  can  scarcely  refer  to 
the  same  operating  entity. 

How  important  this  matter  of  a  possible  double  inter¬ 
national  entity  is  becomes  at  once  apparent  when  it  is 
observed  that  the  provisions  of  the  supercovenant  of 
article  10  reads,  “  The  high  contracting  parties  undertake 
to  respect  and  preserve  as  against  external  aggression  the 
territorial  integrity  and  existing  political  independence 
of  all  States  members  of  the  league. 9  9 

I  shall  later  comment  upon  other  covenants  of  the  high 
contracting  parties,  when  it  will  become  increasingly  ap¬ 
parent  how  indispensable  it  becomes  to  have  this  point 
cleared  up,  because  if  the  high  contracting  parties  do  not 
comprise  every  State  that  is  a  member  of  the  league,  then 
the  burden  assumed  by  the  high  contracting  parties,  who¬ 
ever  they  may  be,  possibly  the  “  big  five,”  is  crushing  in 
its  weight. 

One  other  point  closely  akin  to  the"  two  foregoing  should 
be  considered  here.  The  text,  as  printed  in  the  Official 
Bulletin,  is  entitled  4  4  Covenant  on  the  league  of  nations.  ’  ’ 
Now,  the  term  44  league  of  nations  ”  as  applied  to  the 
organization  contemplated  by  this  covenant  is,  if  judged 
by  popular  conception,  a  deceptive  misnomer.  The  popu¬ 
lar  thought  is  that  a  league  of  nations  means  a  league  of 
all  the  nations  of  the  world.  Such,  however,  is  not  the 
league  provided  for  in  the  document  now  before  us,  save 
in  remote  contemplation,  for  under  this  proposed  plan  the 
nations  of  the  world  are  divided  into  three  classes : 

First,  44  Signatories”  of  the  covenant;  these  are  not 
named,  but  it  is  assumed  they  will  include  and  pos¬ 
sibly  be  confined  to  the  five  great  entente  powers ;  that  is 
to  say,  the  British  Empire,  France,  Italy,  Japan,  and  the 
United  States. 


107883—19347 


9 


Second.  “  States  not  signatory  to  the  covenant  but 
named  in  the  protocol  attached  to  the  covenant  ” ;  no  in¬ 
formation  is  given  as  to  who  these  States  are,  though 
surely  they  will  include  such  entente  powers,  if  any,  as 
are  not  signatories  as  well  as  certain  other  States  neutral 
in  the  conflict  now  closing ;  and 

Third.  Those  States  which  are  neither  signatories  nor 

% 

protocol  States  and  which  must,  to  he  admitted  to  the 

league,  he  prepared  to  give  certain  effective  guaranties  as 

to  their  intention  to  be  hound  bv  their  international  ohli- 

•/ 

gations.  These  latter  are  outcast  States  and  presumably 
include  the  central  powers  and  their  allies  in  the  war. 

Thus  a  league  of  nations  in  the  sense  of  all  the  nations 
is  not  created  by  this  document,  nor  are  the  States  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  league  treated  as  equals,  as  is  apparent,  and 
will  be  more  fully  shown  when  it  is  considered  that  the 
governing  body  of  the  proposed  league,  namely,  the  execu¬ 
tive  council,  is  made  up  of  representatives  of  only  nine 
States. 

But  the  term  league  is  a  misnomer  in  another  and  really 
vital  matter.  For  a  league  connotes  a  confederation,  and 
a  confederation  implies  a  right  in  the  several  parties  to 
withdraw  at  their  will.  But  there  is  no  right  of  secession 
within  the  four  corners  of  this  covenant.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  association  here  provided  for  is  a  union  in  the 
full  sense  of  that  term  as  applied  to  our  own  political 
institutions.  Once  in  this  union  and  we  remain  there  no 
matter  how  onerous  its  gigantic  burdens  may  become.  No 
matter  how  great  the  distaste  and  revulsion  our  people 
may  have  for  it,  we  must  remain  members  until  either  we 
persuade  all  the  States  represented  in  the  executive  coun¬ 
cil  and  three-fourths  of  those  represented  in  the  body  of 
delegates  to  bid  us  depart  in  peace  or  until  the  league 

10T8S3— 19347 - 2 


10 


crumbles  of  its  own  weight  or  is  destroyed  by  its  enemies 
or  until  we  fight  our  way  out  against  the  British  Empire, 
France,  Italy,  Japan,  and  all  the  lesser  States  they  are 
able  to  persuade  to  join  the  league. 

It  is  well  that  all  discussions  of  this  project  should  be 
had  with  the  foregoing  preliminary  matters  in  mind. 

In  proceeding  with  my  analysis  it  will  be  convenient  to 
examine  first  the  machinery  set  up  by  this  document  for 
carrying  out  its  covenants,  noting  the  powers  and  duties 
of  the  respective  parts,  and  then  to  consider  the  broad 
matters  of  substance.  The  document  before  us  establishes 
six  operative  league  bodies  as  follows : 

Body  of  delegates. 

Executive  council. 

Military  naval  commission. 

Mandatory  commission. 

Bureau  of  labor. 

Permanent  secretariat. 

1.  BODY  OF  DELEGATES. 

The  body  of  delegates  is  to  be  made  up  of  representatives 
of  the  “  high  contracting  parties,”  each  party  to  have  not 
more  than  three  delegates  but  to  have  only  one  vote. 

The  specific  jurisdiction  given  to  the  body  of  delegates 
in  the  instrument  bestows  roughly  three  broad  powers — 
first,  to  entertain  reports  made  by  any  of  the  “  high  con¬ 
tracting  parties  ”  of  “  circumstances  affecting  interna¬ 
tional  intercourse  which  threaten  to  disturb  international 
peace  or  the  good  understanding  between  nations  upon 
which  peace  depends”;  second,  to  take  jurisdiction  of  a 
dispute  not  settled  by  arbitration  which  is  referred  to  it 
by  either  party  thereto  or  by  the  executive  council  providing 
this  reference  is  made  within  14  days  after  the  dispute  is 

j 

107883—19341 


11 


submitted  to  the  executive  council,  in  respect  of  which  ref¬ 
erence  the  body  of  delegates  has  the  same  actions  and  powers 
concerning  the  dispute  as  would  the  executive  council  if  it 
continued  to  entertain  jurisdiction;  and  third,  to  advise 
the  reconsideration  by  members  of  the  league  of  those 
treaties  which  have  become  ina23plicable  and  of  interna¬ 
tional  conditions  the  continuance  of  which  may  endanger 
the  j^eace  of  the  world.  The  body  of  delegates  is  also  ulti¬ 
mately  to  choose  the  four  other  States  not  named  in  the 
document,  who  shall  be  represented  on  the  executive  coun¬ 
cil,  and  is  also  to  vote  on  the  admission  to  the  league  of  cer¬ 
tain  outcast  States  to  be  noted  later. 

But  the  document  contains  no  provisions  whatever 
regarding  the  appointment,  removal,  compensation,  or 
tenure  of  these  representatives  who  are  to  exercise  these 
powers.  Neither  is  there  any  provision  covering  the  or¬ 
ganization  of  the  body  or  how  it  shall  vote  or  function, 
nor  what  number  of  States  or  delegates  constitute  a 
quorum  for  doing  business,  whether  distinctions  shall  be 
made  as  to  the  number  necessary  to  transact  different 
kinds  of  business,  beyond  the  23ro vision  of  article  4,  which 
puts  matters  of  procedure  and  the  appointment  of  com¬ 
mittees  into  the  hands  of  a  “  majority  of  the  States  re2)- 
resented  at  the  meeting.” 

2.  EXECUTIVE  COUNCIL. 

The  executive  council  is  to  be  made  iqi  of  represent¬ 
atives  of  the  British  Empire,  France,  Italy,  Japan,  and 
the  United  States,  and  of  four  other  States  to  be  selected 
“  by  the  body  of  delegates  on  such  principles  and  in  such 
manner  as  they  think  fit,”  that  is  nine  States  in  all. 

The  jurisdiction  of  this  superbody,  thus  made  up  of 
re2)resentatives  of  nine  out  of  the  half  hundred  States, 

107883—10347 


12 


more  or  less,  which  compose  the  world,  is  stated  to  be 
4  4  any  matter  within  the  sphere  of  action  of  the  league 
or  affecting  the  peace  of  the  world.”  But  in  addition  to 
this  general  grant  of  jurisdiction  certain  specific  powers 
are  bestowed,  the  more  important  of  which  may  be  stated 
in  general  terms  as  follows : 

Making  plans  for  the  disarmament  of  the  world,  de¬ 
termining  what  is  fair  and  reasonable  military  equipment 
and  armament  for  each  nation,  and  deciding  regarding 
any  increase  in  armament  of  any  power ;  formulating  plans 
to  cure  the  evils  of  private  manufacture  of  munitions  of 
war;  devising  means  for  fulfilling  the  obligations  to  pre¬ 
serve — if  necessary  by  armed  force — the  territorial  in¬ 
tegrity  and  existing  political  independence  of  ail  States 
members  of  the  league  against  external  aggression ;  sitting 
in  judgment  on  and  making  recommendations  regarding 
any  dispute  whatsoever  arising  between  the  high  contract¬ 
ing  parties;  proposing  steps  for  the  enforcement  of 
arbitral  awards;  formulating  plans  for  establishing  a 
permanent  court  of  international  justice ;  proposing  meas¬ 
ures  necessary  to  give  effect  to  their  own  recommenda¬ 
tions;  recommending  what  effective  military  or  naval 
forces  each  member  of  the  league  shall  contribute  to  pro¬ 
tect  the  covenants  of  the  league,  seemingly,  not  only  against 
league  but  nonleague  members,  that  is,  as  a  practical  mat¬ 
ter,  the  power  to  declare  war ;  determining  the  conditions 
upon  which  nonmembers  may  assume  the  obligations  of  the 
league  for  the  iDurpose  of  any  particular  dispute  and  ex¬ 
amining  and  making  recommendations  concerning  any 
dispute  which  may  arise  between  members  of  the  league 
and  nonmembers  or  among  nonmembers  themselves ; 
taking  such  action  and  making  such  recommendations  as 
will  prevent  hostilities  between  two  nonmember  disputing 

107883—19347 


13 


States  who  have  declined  to  accept  the  obligations  of 
membership  in  the  league  for  the  purpose  of  dispute; 
and  defining  in  a  special  act  or  charter  “  the  degree  of 
authority,  control,  or  administration  to  be  exercised  by 
the  mandatory  State  over  the  colony  or  territory  placed 
under  its  protection.’ ’ 

Obviously,  as  already  suggested,  this  is  the  real  govern¬ 
ing  body  of  the  league,  yet  such  essential  matters  as  what 
shall  be  the  number  of  representatives  from  each  State, 
who  shall  fix  the  number,  shall  the  States  be  represented 
by  an  equal  number  of  representatives,  what  shall  be  the 
manner  of  organization  and  voting,  are  not  stated  in 
the  document.  Neither  does  the  document  provide  for  the 
appointment,  removal,  compensation,  or  tenure  of  these 
representatives,  though  the  document  provides  that  pro¬ 
cedure  at  the  meetings  of  the  council,  including  the  ap¬ 
pointment  of  committees  to  investigate  particular  mat¬ 
ters,  is  to  be  regulated  by  the  council  “  and  may  be  de¬ 
cided  by  a  majority  of  the  States  represented  at  the  meet¬ 
ing.”  Who  shall  call  the  meetings,  except  the  first,  how 
many  States  or  representatives  shall  constitute  a  quorum, 
what,  if  any,  matters  would  require  more  than  a  majority 
vote,  and  all  other  vital  matters  connected  with  the  de¬ 
liberations  of  this  world-ruling  body  are  entirely  unpro¬ 
vided  for.  And  yet,  this  is  the  body  which  is  hereafter  to 
determine  whether  we,  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
shall  go  to  war,  and  what  our  participation  therein  shall  be. 

Nor  are  these  all  the  defects  of  the  instrument  in  respect 
of  the  operations  of  the  executive  council.  There  are  ab¬ 
solutely  no  principles,  rules,  or  regulations  laid  down  in 
covenant  by  which  this  world-governing  body  is  to  be 
guided.  It  makes  its  own  principles,  rules,  and  regula¬ 
tions;  it  hales  before  it  every  power,  whether  league  mem- 
107883— 19347 


14 


beror  not, whom  it  believes  has  violated  any  such  principle, 
rule,  or  regulation ;  it  sits  as  a  court  to  determine  whether 
any  violation  has  actually  occurred;  it  passes  judgment 
upon  a  violation  when  found ;  and  it  determines  the  means 
which  shall  be  used  in  enforcing  its  judgments  or  recom¬ 
mendations,  the  league  being  bound  to  furnish  the  means 
so  determined  upon. 

I  am  not  unmindful  of  the  fact  that  by  the  “  covenant- 
preamble  ”  international  cooperation’  and  international 
peace  and  security  are  to  be  promoted,  inter  alia,  “  by  the 
firm  establishment  of  the  understandings  of  international 
law  as  the  actual  rule  of  conduct  among  govern¬ 
ments.”  But  this  provision  merely  accentuates  the  diffi¬ 
culty,  for  there  is  no  universally  recognized  body  of  inter¬ 
national  law  and  no  provision  is  made  in  the  instrument 
for  even  an  attempt  to  secure  one.  Indeed  there  are  many 
great  and  fundamental  differences  of  opinion  as  to  what  is 
the  rule  or  principle  of  international  law  on  many  grave 
questions,  and  even  the  customs  of  nations,  not  generally 
regarded  as  having  yet  ripened  into  international  law,  are 
greatly  at  variance.  Thus  the  executive  council  in  reality 
stands  in  a  position,  as  already  stated,  to  make  its  own  law, 
rules,  and  regulations.  To  sum  up,  the  executive  council  is 
legislature,  court,  and  in  a  large  part,  executive,  all  in  one. 
A  body  clothed  with  powers  such  as  this  is  an  anachronism. 
It  belongs  not  to  the  enlightened  age  of  the  twentieth  cen¬ 
tury  but  to  the  days  of  the  Medes  and  Persians.  A  union 
more  abhorrent  to  our  traditions,  to  our  free  institutions, 
to  the  trend  of  all  civilized  government,  could  not  be  de¬ 
vised. 

3.  MILITARY  NAVAL  COMMISSION.  ’ 

•  \  "\ 

The  permanent  military  naval  commission  provided  for 
in  article  9  is  to  “  advise  the  league  on  the  execution  of  the 

*07883— 19347 


15 


provisions  of  article  8 — which  relate  to  disarmament — and 
on  military  and  naval  questions  generally.  ”  That  is  to 
say,  it  is  the  great  general  staff  of  the  league,  and  seem¬ 
ingly  is  to  be  laden  with  the  entire  military  responsibility 
thereof  in  whatever  military  activities  the  league  may 
undertake.  The  document  submitted  contains  absolutely 
no  intimations  as  to  the  composition  of  the  commission, 
the  number  of  members,  the  method  of  appointment,  the 
States  from  which  they  shall  be  appointed,  their  removal, 
their  compensation,  or  their  tenure.  Neither  are  there  any 
rules,  beyond  the  most  general,  laid  down  for  their  guid¬ 
ance  and  control. 

4.  MANDATORY  COMMISSION. 

The  mandatory  commission  is  to  be  established  by  the 
high  contracting  parties,  and  it  “  is  -to  receive  and  examine 
annual  reports  of  the  mandatory  powers  and  to  assist  the 
league  in  issuing  the  observance  of  the  terms  of  all  man¬ 
dates.”  The  same  indefiniteness  exists  as  to  the  organiza¬ 
tion  and  operations  of  this  commission  that  exists  with 
reference  to  the  military  naval  commission. 

5.  BUREAU  OF  LABOR. 

The  high  contracting  parties  agree  to  establish  “  as  part 
of  the  organization  of  the  league  a  permanent  bureau  of 
labor,’ ’  which  is  set  up  to  carry  out  the  undertaking  of  the 
high  contracting  parties  that  they  “  will  endeavor  to  se¬ 
cure  and  maintain  fair  and  humane  conditions  of  labor  for 
men,  women,  and  children,  both  in  their  own  countries  and 
in  all  countries  to  which  their  commercial  and  industrial 
relations  ”  extend.  Here  again  are  no  details  as  to  the 
composition,  organization,  appointment,  removal,  compen¬ 
sation,  or  tenure  of  the  members  of  this  bureau. 

107883—19347 


16 


Read  in  the  light  of  the  provision  of  article  21,  which 
requires  that  the  high  contracting  parties  shall  make  pro¬ 
vision  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  league  “  to  se¬ 
cure  and  maintain  *  *  *  equitable  treatment  for 

the  commerce  of  all  States  members  of  the  league,”  the 
question  arises  as  to  whether  or  not  it  is  the  intent  of  these 
provisions  to  put  the  labor  of  all  countries  upon  an  equality, 
and  if  this  be  the  intent  and  purpose  of  the  document,  then 
the  labor  of  this  country  may  well  consider,  inasmuch  as 
France  has  already  given  notice  that  it  will  be  impossible 
for  French  labor  to  be  put  on  an  equality  with  American 
labor  in  hours  of  work,  whether  American  labor  is  to  be 
brought  to  the  level  of  French  labor  in  this  regard,  in 
order  that  there  may  be  equitable  treatment  of  the  com¬ 
merce  of  the  two  countries. 

6.  PERMANENT  SECRETARIAT. 

Finally,  there  is  the  permanent  secretariat  which  appar¬ 
ently  is  to  perform  the  ordinary  secretarial  duties  both 
for  the  body  of  delegates  and  for  the  executive  council. 

The  duties  of  the  secretariat  are,  in  addition  to  the  sec¬ 
retarial  services  necessary  for  the  body  of  delegates  and 
the  executive  council,  to  receive  from  “parties”  in  dis¬ 
pute,  statements  of  their  cases,  with  all  relevant  facts  and 
papers  and  to  register  and  publish  all  treaties  hereafter 
entered  into  by  regular  members. 

This  is  the  machinery  of  the  league.  The  mere  nar¬ 
ration  I  have  made  shows  great  gaps  in  indispensable  pro¬ 
visions  and  procedure.  I  assume  I  need  make  no  argu¬ 
ment  to  establish  that  before  we  become  parties  to  any 
such  plan  as  herein  proposed,  we  must  know  something, 
must  have  some  assurance  on  these  vitally  important  mat¬ 
ters  now  unprovided  for.  Nor  can  it  be  properly  said 

107883—19347 


17 


that  these  are  mere  details  which  have  no  place  in  a  great 
document,  for  all  are  of  the  kind  which  are  provided  for 
in  our  own  Constitution,  which  certainly  is  entitled  to 
rank  fully  with  this  covenant  as  to  novelty  of  plan  and 
provision  and  as  to  importance  and  far-reaching  conse¬ 
quences. 

Referring  again  to  the  possible  distinction  between  the 
high  contracting  parties  and  the  league,  and  the  fact  that 
seemingly  the  document  provides  for  these  two  inter¬ 
national  entities,  each  with  its  own  rights,  duties,  and 
obligations,  it  is  most  important  to  note  the  nature  of  the 
covenants  which  under  this  document  are  to  be  entered 
into  by  the  high  contracting  parties — and  we  must  re¬ 
member  that  what  the  high  contracting  parties  covenant 
we  covenant;  their  obligations  are  our  obligations — and 
by  the  league,  respectively.  The  proceeding  may  prove 
tedious,  but  it  appears  to  me  necessary  that  these  cove¬ 
nants  be  fresh  in  our  minds  for  the  discussion  with  which 
I  intend  to  follow  them.  In  listing  the  more  important 
of  them  I  shall  follow  the  order  in  which  they  occur  in 
the  document,  without  attempting  to  correlate  those  of 
like  nature.  Those  of  the  high  contracting  parties  are 
as  follows : 

The  high  contracting  parties  agree,  in  connection  with 
the  program  for  disarmament,  not  to  conceal  from  one 
another  the  condition  of  their  industries  capable  of  being 
adapted  to  warlike  purposes ;  to  give  a  full  and  frank  in¬ 
terchange  of  information  as  to  their  military  and  naval 
programs;  and  not  to  -exceed  the  armament  limits  pro¬ 
posed  by  the  executive  council  and  adopted  by  themselves 
except  with  the  consent  of  the  council. 

The  super  coven  ant  of  article  10  obligates  these  parties, 
including  ourselves,  to  respect  and  to  preserve  against 

1078S3— 19347 - 3 


,18 


external  aggression  the  territorial  integrity  and  existing 
political  independence  of  all  league  members.  It  is  to  be 
noted  that  this  guaranty  runs  not  alone  to  the  existing 
territory  of  nations,  but  to  any  territorial  exent  to  which 
they  may  hereafter  attain.  If,  for  example,  any  of  the 
German  colonies  shall  ultimately  be  incorporated  into  the 
territory  of  any  of  the  parties,  this  guaranty  will  run  to 
this  extension.  It  should  be  here  further  observed  that 
if  there  is  a  difference  between  the  high  contracting 
parties  and  the  league,  then  it  is  high  contracting  parties, 
including  ourselves,  and  not  the  whole  league,  which  guar¬ 
antee  not  only  their  own  territorial  integrity  and  inde¬ 
pendence  but  the  territorial  integrity  and  political  inde¬ 
pendence  of  every  other  member  of  the  league. 

By  article  12  the  parties  agree  not  to  resort  to  war 
against  any  high  contracting  party  over  any  dispute  what¬ 
soever  until  the  matter  has  been  submitted  to  arbitration  or 
subjected  to  inquiry  before  the  executive  council,  and  not 
then  until  three  months  after  a  decision  by  either;  and, 
further,  not  to  resort  to  war  in  any  event  against  any 
member  of  the  league  which  complies  with  the  award  of 
arbitration.  It  may  be  remarked  in  passing  two  things 
are  obvious :  First,  that  this  does  not  prevent  but  merely 
delays  war  by  the  high  contracting  parties,  except  that, 
second,  if  a  member  of  the  league  obtaining  the  judgment 
before  the  arbitration  tribunal  or  the  council  accepts  the 
benefit  of  the  judgment — as,  of  course,  the  winning  party 
would  all  but  universally  do — then  the  losing  party  shall 
not  under  such  circumstances  go  to  war  against  the 
winning  party. 

Article  13  contains  a  narrower  covenant  to  arbitrate 
difficulties  with  an  undertaking  to  carry  out  the  award 
in  good  faith. 

107SS3 — 19347 


19 


By  article  15  the  high  contracting  parties  agree  to  refer 
to  the  executive  council  any  dispute  not  submitted  to  arbi¬ 
tration  and  likely  to  lead  to  rupture  which  may  arise  be¬ 
tween  States  members  of  the  league;  “  the  parties  77  agree 
to  communicate  to  the  secretary  general  “  statements  of 
their  case,77  with  all  relevant  facts  and  papers,  which  the 
executive  council  shall  forthwith  direct  to  be  published, 
and,  further,  that  they  will  not  go  to  war  6i  with  any 
party  77  which  complies  with  any  recommendation  of  the 
executive  council  which  is  unanimously  concurred  in  by 
all  members  of  the  council  except  the  parties  to  dispute. 
Seemingly  they  may  go  to  war  over  a  recommendation  of 
the  council  which  is  not  unanimously  concurred  in  by  all 
members  of  the  council,  except  the  parties  in  dispute. 
Finally,  this  article  stipulates  that  the  high  contracting 
parties  agree  that  if  any  party  refuses  to  comply  with  any 
such  recommendations  so  made  the  council  shall  pro]oose 
measures  necessary  to  give  effect  to  their  decision. 

Under  article  16  it  is  agreed  that  if  any  of  the  high  con¬ 
tracting  parties  breaks  or  disregards  its  covenants  under 
article  12 — the  article  in  which  the  parties  bind  themselves 
not  to  go  to  war  except  under  certain  conditions — that 
then  the  parties  shall  subject  the  offenders  to  a  severance 
of  trade  and  financial  relations  and  of  intercourse  between 
nationals  of  the  offending  State  or  States,  and  to  the  pre¬ 
vention  of  all  financial,  commercial,  or  personal  inter¬ 
course  between  the  nationals  of  offending  States  and  the 
nationals  of  all  other  States.  Moreover,  the  high  contract¬ 
ing  parties  bind  themselves  mutually  to  support  one 
another,  first,  in  the  financial  and  economic  measures 
which  may  be  taken  under  article  16  “  in  order  to  minimize 
the  loss  and  inconvenience  77  resulting  from  the  measures 
outlined  in  this  article,  and,  second,  in  resisting  any  special 

1078S3— 19347 


20 


measures  aimed  at  one  of  their  number  by  a  covenant- 

A/ 

breaking  State. 

In  article  17  the  parties  agree  that  in  disputes  between 
members  of  the  league  and  nonmembers  thereof,  or  in  dis¬ 
putes  entirely  among  nonmembers,  the  involved  nonmem¬ 
bers  shall  be  invited  “to  accept  the  obligations  of  member¬ 
ship  in  the  league  for  the  purpose  of  such  dispute  ”  upon 
conditions  fixed  by  the  executive  council.  If  this  invita¬ 
tion  be  accepted,  the  preceding  provisions  shall  be  applied 

\ 

with  modifications  deemed  necessary  by  the  league.  If 
tlie  power  so  invited  refuses  to  accejrt  the  obligations  of 
membership  in  the  league  for  the  purposes  of  such  dispute, 
and  if  such  power  takes  against  a  league  member  any 
action  which,  if  taken  by  such  a  member,  would  constitute 
a  breach  of  article  12 — that  is  the  article  which  contains 
the  covenant  against  a  resort  to  war — then  the  provisions 
of  article  16— the  article  which  contains  the  sanction  by 
which  observance  of  article  12  is  to  be  compelled — shall  be 
applicable  as  against  the  unwilling  State.  With  reference 
both  to  this  article  and  to  article  16,  it  should  be  recalled 
that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  executive  council  in  case  the  pre¬ 
scribed  peaceful  means  of  coercion  do  not  suffice  to  bring 
the  offending  State  to  terms,  “  to  recommend  what  effec¬ 
tive  military  or  naval  forces  the  members  of  the  league 
shall  severally  contribute  to  the  armed  forces  to  be  used  to 
protect  the  covenants  of  the  league/  ’ 

By  article  20  the  high  contracting  parties  undertake  to 
endeavor  to  secure  and  maintain  fair  and  humane  condi¬ 
tions  of  labor  in  member  States  and  among  nonmember 
States  and  agree  to  establish  as  part  of  the  organization 
of  the  league  a  permanent  bureau  of  labor — a  somewhat 
drastic  potential  interference,  not  merely  with  our  Federal 
but  with  our  State  powers  as  well. 

107883—19347 


21 


In  article  21  the  high  contracting  parties  agree  that  pro¬ 
vision  shall  he  made  through  the  league  to  secure  and  main¬ 
tain  freedom  of  transit  and  equitable  treatment  for  the 
commerce  of  all  members,  with  special  arrangements  in 
regard  to  the  necessities  of  regions  devastated  in  the 
oresent  war. 

JL 

Under  article  23  the  high  contracting  parties  agree  that 
every  treaty  hereafter  entered  into  shall  be  registered  with 
the  secretary-general,  and  that  no  such  treaty  shall  be 
binding  until  so  registered. 

And  by  article  25,  probably  the  third  most  important 
in  the  entire  document,  the  high  contracting  parties  agree 
that  this  covenant  shall  abrogate  all  obligations  inter  se 
which  are  inconsistent  with  the  terms  thereof,  and  that 
they  will  not  enter  into  any  other  engagements  which  are 

thus  inconsistent.  In  case  any  powers  make,  after  enter- 

% 

ing  .the  league,  inconsistent  obligations,  they  must  take 
immediate  steps  to  procure  release  from  such  obligations. 
In  passing  I  raise  this  as  a  question  of  no  little  impor¬ 
tance  ;  Since  the  covenants  of  the  league  guarantee  terri¬ 
torial  integrity  and  political  independence  of  league  mem¬ 
bers,  then  a  similar  covenant  between  any  two  members 
of  the  league  would  probably  be  considered  an  inconsistent 
obligation ;  and  if  this  be  true,  I  invite  the  attention  of  the 
Senate  to  the  possible  abrogation  of  the  Platt  amendment 
treatv  between  ourselves  and  Cuba — a  treaty  heretofore 
regarded  as  indispensable  to  our  national  welfare  and 
safety — in  case  both  Cuba  and  the  United  States  become 
members  of  the  league. 

The  foregoing  are  the  most  important  covenants  which 
run  in  the  name  of  the  high  contracting  parties. 

I  wish  now  to  direct  your  attention  to  the  powers  which 
run  in  the  name  of  the  league  as  such,  and  to  renew  my 

107883—19347 


22 


invitation  that  you  consider  well  the  differences  between 

ts 

the  two  sets  of  covenants  and  powers,  and  to  my  question 
as  to  whether  the  plan  contemplates  two  international  en¬ 
tities,  namely,  the  high  contracting  parties  and  the  league. 

By  article  7  the  league  is  to  prescribe  conditions  of 
entry  into  it  of  the  outcast  States ;  bv  article  17  the  league 
is  to  be  intrusted  with  the  general  supervision  of  trade 
in  arms  and  ammunition  in  countries  where  a  control  of 
the  traffic  of  such  is  necessary  to  the  common  interest ;  by 
article  19  the  league,  assisted  by  the  mandatory  commis¬ 
sion,  is  to  insure  an  observance  of  all  mandates;  and  by 
article  21  the  league  is  to  be  the  instrument  through  which 
the  high  contracting  parties  shall  secure  and  maintain 
freedom  of  transit  and  equitable  treatment  of  commerce 
of  all  members,  together  with  special  arrangements  with 
regard  to  the  necessities  of  regions  devastated  in  the 
present  war. 

These  are  the  sum  total  of  the  powers  and  obligations 
which  in  this  covenant  run  to  the  league  as  such.  How 
great  the  undertakings  of  the  high  contracting  parties, 
how  meager  the  obligations  of  the  league  itself  is  evident 
from  this  enumeration. 

Nowhere  is  it  more  important  to  determine  whether  the 
high  contracting  parties  are  operating  as  an  international 
entity  than  in  the  construction  of  article  11,  which  reads : 

Any  war  or  threat  of  war,  whether  immediately 
affecting  any  of  the  high  contracting  parties  or  not, 
is  hereby  declared  a  matter  of  concern  to  the  league, 
and  the  high  contracting  parties  reserve  the  right 
to  take  any  action  that  may  be  deemed  wise  and 
effectual  to  safeguard  the  peace  of  nations. 

It  is  obvious  that  if  the  reservation  of  the  right  to  take 
action  under  this  article  is  to  the  high  contracting  parties 

1078S3— 19347 


23 


as  an  entity,  that  they  thereby  have  assumed  jurisdiction 
of  the  world ;  whereas  if  the  reservation  of  the  right  of  the 
high  contracting  parties  to  take  action  is  a  reservation 
of  the  right  to  the  nations  as  individuals,  the  whole  propo¬ 
sition  is  a  rope  of  sand. 

And  in  considering  all  this  it  must  be  remembered  that 
once  we  enter  this  league  and  assume  these  obligations,  we 
can  not  secure  any  modification  thereof  except  with  the 
consent  of  all  the  States  whose  representatives  compose  the 
executive  council  and  of  three-fourths  of  the  States  whose 
representatives  compose  the  body  of  delegates.  What  a 
magnificent  field  we  would  thus  create  for  grandiose  inter¬ 
national  political  manipulation  by  ambitious  men  and 
groups ! 

With  this  analysis  before  us,  we  are  now  in  a  position  to 
consider  the  application  of  the  rules  by  which,  in  my  judg¬ 
ment,  this  proposal  must  be  tested: 

First,  Do  its  provisions  abolish  war  and  make  it  here¬ 
after  impossible  %  There  is  not  an  important  art icle  in  the 
document  which  does  not  specifically  answer  that  question 
“  No.”  And,  further,  the  scheme  provided  therein  holds 
out  a  higher  promise — nay,  assurance — of  a'  future  world¬ 
wide  war,  greater  than  any  which  has  gone  before,  than 
any  other  document  in  the  history  of  recorded  time. 

I  have  already  pointed  out  that  the  covenant  provides 
for  three  sorts  of  States;  first,  u  signatories  ”  of  the  cove¬ 
nant;  second,  protocol  States;  and,  third,  outcast  States, 
which  I  take  it  are  the  central  powers  and  their  allies. 

Now,  it  is  unnecessary  to  labor  an  argument  to  show 
that  the  inevitable  result  of  outlawing  the  central  States 
will  be  to  drive  them  more  closely  together  for  mutual  self¬ 
protection,  and  that  this  in  turn  will  make  the  formation 
of  a  second  league  of  nations  almost  an  assured  certainty. 

107883—103-17 


V 


24 


It  may  well  be  that  tills  second  league  will  not  at  the  out¬ 
set  be  constituted  wfltli  all  the  formalities  which  mark  the 
one  we  have  under  consideration,  but  in  all  human  prob¬ 
ability  such  a  league  will  be  somehow  formed,  by  informal 
understanding  or  otherwise,  and  when  so  formed  will  bid 
for  the  adherence  to  it  of  neutral  States.  We  would  thus 
Lave  in  no  distant  future  two  great  leagues  of  nations, 
which  will  become  two  great  camps,  each  preparing  for 
a  new  and  greater  life  and  death  struggle.  Our  only 
escape  from  this  result,  under  this  plan,  would  be  through 
the  exercise  of  such  a  tyrannical  despotism  over  the 
peoples  of  the  central  powers  as  we,  with  all  our  traditions 
and  ideals,  must  not  become  a  party  to,  for  it  would  be 
violative  of  all  of  those  human  rights  for  which  our 
fathers  fought  and  which  our  own  Constitution  guarantees. 
Moreover,  to  keep  peoples  in  such  a  state  of  subjection  as 
would  be  necessary  to  obviate  the  result  above  pointed  out, 
would  require  such  an  expenditure  of  effort,  treasure,  and 
blood  as  never  would  be  permanently  tolerated  by  our 
people.  Thus  the  plan  proposed,  instead  of  being  a  plan 
by  which  the  permanent  peace  of  the.  world  wrould  be 
assured,  becomes  a  plan  under  which  a  constant  warfare 
or  a  potential  great  world-wide  conflagration  becomes  an 
assured  fact. 

In  other  words,  this  plan,  as  the  prescriptions  of  the 
document  demonstrate,  is  in  effect  merely  an  offensive  and 
defensive  alliance  between  certain  picked  powers  as  be¬ 
tween  themselves,  and  a  coalition  among  them  as  against 
the  balance  of  the  world,  and  this  coalition  is  formed  with 
an  avowed  and  published  purpose  to  impose  upon  the 
stranger  powers  the  will  of  the  coalition,  not  merely  in 


matters  relating  to  the  prevention  of  war  but  in  all  other 


matters  in  which  the  conduct  of  the  stranger  powers 


10TSS3— 19347 


f 


J 


25 


affects  tlie  members  of  the  coalition.  This  is  tyranny, 
nothing  more,  nothing  less.  Has  history  ever  answered 
an  attempt  to  do  this  thing  save  in  one  way,  and  has  that 
way  ever  spelled  anything  but  disaster  for  the  coalition? 
Is  such  a  proposal  not  monstrous,  and,  if  so,  can  it  have 
our  support?  Must  our  every  effort  not  be  to  avoid  so 
dividing  the  world  into  two  warring  camps  ?  In  what  re¬ 
spect  will  the  situation  so  formed  differ  from  that  created 
by  the  centuries-old  doctrine  of  balance  of  power,  save 
only  that  now,  for  the  first  uphappy  time  in  our  history, 
we  are  to  be  placed  in  one  side  of  the  balance  ? 

“  But,”  it  is  said,  “  this  is  all  merely  potential,  it  may 
not  happen,  and  therefore  the  league  should  not  for  that 
be  condemned.” 

Grant  this,  for  the  sake  of  argument :  What  then  ? 

In  the  first  place,  the  league  plan  still  regards  war  as 
legal  and  as  possible  in  the  following  more  obvious  cases: 

First.  Under  article  12,  if  two  of  the  high  contracting 
parties  have  a  dispute  which  is  submitted  to  arbitration 
and  with  the  award  of  which  neither  party  is  satisfied, 
they  may  properly  go  to  war  after  an  interval  of  three 
months  from  the  date  of  the  award. 

Second.  Under  the  same  article,  if  there  is  a  like  dis¬ 
pute  between  like  parties,  and  the  matter  is  submitted  to 
the  executive  council,  which  makes  a  recommendation 
which  neither  party  is  willing  to  accept,  then  the  parties 
may  after  three  months  properly  go  to  war. 

Third.  Under  article  15  if  a  dispute  goes  either  to  the 
executive  council  or  the  body  of  delegates,  and  either  body 
gives  a  decision  unanimous,  except  as  to  the  parties  in  dis¬ 
pute,  and  this  decision  is  unacceptable  to  both  parties  to 
the  dispute,  then  they  may  legally  go  to  war. 

Fourth.  It  would  seem,  under  the  same  article,  that  if 
neither  the  executive  council  nor  the  body  of  delegates  can 

107883—19347 


26 


reach  a  decision  which  is  unanimous  except  for  the  parties 
to  the  dispute,  that  then  the  parties  thereto  may  legally 
go  to  war. 

Fifth.  All  conflicts  between  States  not  members  of  the 
league  would  under  the  covenant  appear  to  be  legal  under 
the  covenant,  though  the  league  declares  its  right  and  in¬ 
tention  to  interfere  in  them  if  it  desires. 

Sixth.  The  high  contracting  parties  may  take  a  hand  in 
any  war  under  the  stipulations  of  article  11,  that  “  any 
war  or  threat  of  war,  whether  immediately  affecting  any 
of  the  high  contracting  parties  or  not,  is  hereby  declared 
a  matter  of  concern  to  the  league,  and  the  high  contracting 
parties  reserve  the  right  to  take  any  action  that  may  be 
deemed  wise  and  effectual  to  safeguard  the  peace  of  na¬ 
tions.’  ’ 

Seventh.  Under  the  provisions  of  articles  17,  12,  and 
16,  disputes  between  States  members  of  the  league  and 
States  not  members  of  the  league  may  lead  to  legal  wrars 
either  between  the  two  States  themselves  or  between  the 
disputants — one  or  both — and  the  league,  or  the  high  con¬ 
tracting  parties. 

In  all  of  these  cases  the  covenant  recognizes  the  legality 
of  a  state  of  war.  But  the  covenant  goes  way  beyond  this 
and  provides  for  and  requires  that  in  certain  far-reaching 
controversies  the  parties  must  go  to  war.  Without  attempt¬ 
ing  to  spell  out  from  this  instrument  the  full  number  of 
cases  in  which  war  is  mandatory,  I  confine  myself  to  three : 

First.  By  this  document  we,  as  one  of  the  high  contract¬ 
ing  parties,  obligate  ourselves  to  preserve  by  force  of  arms, 
if  necessary,  the  territorial  integrity  and  poltical  independ¬ 
ence  of  all  States  members  of  the  league. 

Second.  If  any  of  the  high  contracting  parties  breaks  or 
disregards  its  covenants  under  article  12 — the  covenant 

J07SS3— 19347 


27 


dealing  with  resort  to  arms — then,  as  a  member  of  the 
league,  we  must  fly  to  arms  to  protect  the  covenants. 

Third.  If  any  nonmember  of  the  league,  either  accept¬ 
ing  or  not  accepting  the  obligations  of  membership  in  the 
league  for  the  purposes  of  the  dispute,  acts  in  such  way  as 
would  constitute  a  violation  of  article  12,  if  the  State  were 
a  member  of  the  league,  then  we  must  go  to  war  to  protect 
the  covenants  of  the  league. 

And  in  all  these  three  cases,  whether  or  not  we  partici¬ 
pate  and  the  amount  of  our  participation  in  belligerent 
operations  is  determined  not  by  ourselves  but  by  the  execu¬ 
tive  council  in  which  we  have  seemingly,  at  most,  but  one 
voice  out  of  nine,  no  matter  what  we  think  of  the  merits  of 
the  controversy,  no  matter  how  we  view  the  wisdom  of  a 
war  over  the  cause,  we  are  bound  by  this  covenant  to  go 
to  war  when  and  in  the  manner  the  executive  council  de¬ 
termines.  Thus  it  is  seen  that  in  this  alleged  instrument  of 
peace  war  is  legalized  in  seven  cases  and  made  compulsory 
in  three. 

And  in  this  connection,  as  bearing  upon  our  financial 
and  economic  burdens  outside  those  connected  with  carry¬ 
ing  on  our  share  of  the  war,  I  ask  your  consideration  of 
the  last  paragraph  of  article  16,  by  which  4  4  the  high  con¬ 
tracting  parties  agree  further  that  they  will  mutually 
support  one  another  in  the  financial  and  economic  meas¬ 
ures  which  may  be  taken  under  this  article,  in  order  to 
minimize  the  loss  and  inconvenience  resulting  from  the 
above  measures.”  What  our  contributions  will  be  under 
this,  how  much  our  citizens  must  be  ground  down  by  taxes 
to  take  care  of  wild  and  extravagant  expenditures  which 
we  did  not  and  would  not  initiate  and  over  which  we 
would  have  no  control,  only  an  all-wise  Providence  can 
foresee. 


107883—19347 


28 


Tims  the  proposed  covenant,  instead  of  abolishing  war, 
actually  sanctions,  breeds,  and  commands  it.  Moreover,  it 
absolutely  requires  that  every  future  war  shall  be  a  poten¬ 
tial  world  war,  and  that  we  shall  be  an  active  participant 
in  every  such  war.  We  are  thus  thrust  fully  into  the 
terrible  cauldron  of  European  politics,  and  every  out¬ 
break  in  the  Balkans — even  domestic,  if  it  threaten  inter¬ 
national  war — will  call  for  some  expenditure  of  treasure, 
for  some  shedding  of  American  blood,  for  some  loss  of 
American  life.  It  is  idle  to  say  and  fatuous  to  hope  or 
believe  these  outbreaks  will  not  occur,  for  ambitious  men 
do  not  hesitate  to  waste  life  in  order  to  punish  an  enemy 
or  gain  a  goal. 

The  plan,  therefore,  fails  to  meet  the  first  test. 

We  come  now  to  the  second  question  I  proposed — Do 
the  provisions  of  the  proposed  covenant  strike  down  the 
precepts  of  the  Constitution?  A  mere  listing  of  some  of 
the  more  conspicuous  provisions  of  each  show  that  it  does. 

Under  the  Constitution  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  lias  the  exclusive  power  to  declare  war.  The  pro¬ 
posed  covenant  puts  the  power  of  declaring  war  in  the 
hands  of  the  executive  council,  in  which,  it  is  true,  we  have 
a  voice  but  not  the  constitutional  voice.  Thus,  whether 
Congress  wishes  or  not,  whether  the  people  wish  or  not, 
we  may  be  forced  into  war,  with  all  its  sacrifices  of  life, 
in  a  cause  in  which  we  have  no  real  concern  and  with 
which  we  may  be  out  of  sympathy,  under  the  penalty  that 
if  we  do  not  go  to  war  we  shall,  by  breaking  a  covenant 
of  the  league,  bring  war  upon  ourselves  by  the  balance  of 
the  world. 

Under  the  Constitution  the  Congress  of  the  United 

States  has  the  exclusive  power  to  raise  and  support  armies 

and  to  provide  and  maintain  a  Navy.  The  covenant  pro- 
107883— 10347 


29 


vides  that  the  executive  council  shall  formulate  plans 
limiting  the  size  of  our  Army  and  Navy,  that  the  council 
shall  then  u  determine  for  the  consideration  and  action 
of  the  several  Governments  what  military  equipment  and 
armament  is  fair  and  reasonable  in  proportion  to  the  scale 
of  forces  laid  down  in  the  program  of  disarmament,  and 
these  limits  when  adopted  shall  not  be  exceeded  without 
the  permission  of  the  executive  council.’ ’ 

If  we  act  in  good  faith  under  this  agreement  we  shall, 
of  course,  adopt  the  armament  limits,  which,  as  a  member 
of  the  executive  council,  we  shall  have  assisted  in  formu¬ 
lating.  Thereafter,  no  matter  what  our  necessity  or  what 
its  urgency,  no  matter  what  Congress  or  the  people  them¬ 
selves  may  think  the  situation  requires,  we  can  not  raise 
a  single  man  beyond  our  limit  save  and  except  it  be  ap¬ 
proved  by  the  executive  council  in  which  we  are  one  of 
nine  participating  States.  If  war  were  abolished  this 
might  be  tolerable,  but  with  war  legalized  even  between 
members  of  the  league  and  actually  commanded  in  certain 
contingencies  this  may  spell  for  us  overwhelming  disaster. 

Under  the  Constitution,  a  treaty  becomes  effective  upon 
its  ratification,  following  the  advice  and  consent  thereto 
of  the  Senate.  Under  the  covenant  no  treaty  becomes 
binding  until  it  has  been  registered  with  the  secretary- 
general  of  the  league. 

It  seems  reasonably  certain,  moreover,  that  situations 
calling  for  unconstitutional  action  by  this  Government 
might  arise  under  the  provisions  of  article  16  relating  to 
financial  and  economic  measures  of  support  and  article  20 
relating  to  freedom  of  transit  and  equitable  treatment  for 
commerce,  because  under  these  provisions  the  league  might 
demand  the  making  of  laws  which  in  the  sound  discretion 
of  Congress  ought  not  to  be  made  and  yet  Congress  might 

107883—19347 


30 


find  itself  under  the  compelling  force  of  war  with  the 
entire  league  to  enact  such  legislation.  And  next  to  the 
powers  of  war,  no  powers  are  more  far-reaching  or  vital 
than  those  which  control  the  financial  and  economic  life 
of  the  Nation. 

One  other  matter  demanding  consideration,  the  question 
of  mandates,  may  be  appropriately  dealt  with  here.  The 
provisions  of  the  covenant  relating  to  this  subject  are  so 
loosely  drawn,  purposely  or  otherwise,  that  one  can  not 
tell  just  how  the  mandatory  States  are  to  be  selected.  It 
is  true  that,  with  reference  to  the  communities  formerly  be¬ 
longing  to  the  Turkish  Empire,  it  is  stated  that  the  wishes 
of  the  communities  must  be  a  principal  consideration  in  the 
selection  of  the  mandatory  power,  but  this  provision  is 
not  made  as  to  any  of  the  other  colonies  or  territories  for 
which  provision  is  to  be  made,  and  this  notwithstanding 
the  principle  of  self-determination  adopted,  as  have  been 
reported  in  the  press,  by  all  the  powers  now  in  conference. 
Are  the  mandatory  States  to  be  chosen  by  the  high  con¬ 
tracting  parties,  by  the  members  of  the  league,  by  the  body 
of  delegates,  or  by  the  executive  council?  Or  is  the  State 
protected,  for  stripped  of  the  new-day  verbiage  a  pro¬ 
tectorate  is  really  provided  for,  other  than  the  Turkish 
Empire  communities,  to  indicate  or  to  pick  out  from  the 
league  membership  or  from  States  not  league  members  or 
from  the  high  contracting  parties,  that  particular  State 
which  the  protected  State  wishes  as  a  protector?  It  is 
clear,  however,  that  the  protecting  State,  the  mandatory, 
will  have  in  the  matter  no  choice  or  voice  other  than  that 
which  it  exercises  in  the  body  of  delegates  or  in  the  execu¬ 
tive  council  or  as  a  member  of  the  high  contracting  parties, 
whichever  makes  the  choice.  But  no  matter  who  picks  the 
mandatory  power,  clearly  some  one  beside  ourselves  has 

1078S3'— 19347 


31 


the  power  to  say  whether  and  when  our  boys  and  how 
many  of  them  shall  be  sent  to  the  arid  regions  of  Armenia, 
or  to  the  sleeping-death  regions  of  central  Africa,  or  to  the 
wildernesses  of  southwest  Africa,  or  to  the  inhospitable 
South  Pacific  Isles,  and  when  they  get  there  it  will  be 
somebody  else  beside  ourselves  who  will  determine  how 
long  they  shall  remain,  by  what  laws  they  shall  govern  the 
people,  and  what  shall  be  their  measure  and  rules  of  pro¬ 
tection.  For  it  is  clear — that  is  as  clear  as  the  covenant 
makes  anything — that  the  terms  of  the  protectorate  are 
to  be  determined  not  by  and  between  the  protecting  and 
protected  States,  but  by  the  high  contracting  parties  or 
they  failing  by  the  executive  council  in  a  special  act  or 
charter. 

Moreover,  it  seems  a  matter  of  certain  deduction  that  as 
parties  other  than  ourselves  are  to  determine  the  size  of  the 
army  of  occupation  which  we  shall  send,  the  methods  and 
nature  of  its  operations,  the  length  of  time  it  shall  remain 
there,  the  rules  and  principles  by  which  it  shall  govern  the 
peoples  of  the  occupied  territory,  and  the  kind  and  extent 
of  the  upbuilding  work  which  shall  be  performed  by  the 
protecting  State,  then  somebody  else  beside  ourselves  must 
decide  how  many  billions — for  we  speak  now  only  in  such 
terms — we  shall  Vvring  from  our  own  people  by  taxation 
and  spend  in  the  territory  over  which  we  have  been  made 
mandatory,  perhaps  against  not  only  our  own  free  desires 
but  the  will  of  the  protected  peoples  themselves. 

I  take  it  to  be  unnecessary  to  point  out  how  destructive 

all  these  things  would  be  of  our  Constitution,  which  lodges 

in  the  Congress  the  power  to  raise  and  equip  armies,  to 

raise  revenue,  and  make  appropriations — in  both  matters 

solely  in  accordance  with  the  discretion  of  Congress,  and 

which  lodges  in  the  National  Executive  the  power  to  con- 
107883—19347 


32 


trol  and  direct  the  operations  of  any  army  in  the  field,  in¬ 
cluding  the  power  to  lay  down  the  rules  which  shall  operate 
and  control  between  the  occupying  army  and  the  inhabi¬ 
tants  of  the  territory  occupied. 

Thus  this  covenant  will,  if  it  becomes  operative,  strike 
down  most  vital  provisions  of  our  Constitution,  and  here 
again  it  fails  to  meet  the  test. 

I  am  now  to  the  third  question  I  have  put :  Are  the  pro¬ 
visions  of  the  proposed  covenant  destructive  of  our 
sovereignty  ? 

Cast  up  in  your  mind  the  colossal  powers  granted  to  the 
executive  council,  in  which,  be  it  always  remembered,  we 
are  but  one  of  nine  participating  powers;  recall  the  far- 
reaching  and  vital  covenants  into  which  we  shall  enter  as 
one  of  the  high  contracting  parties ;  and  hold  in  mind  that 
we  are  to  give  up  the  power  to  say  when  we  shall  have  war, 
when  peace,  what  shall  our  Army  number,  how  many  ves¬ 
sels  of  war  shall  we  have,  how,  when,  where,  and  under 
what  conditions  shall  our  Army  and  Navy  be  used,  when 
shall  our  treaties  be  binding,  what  shall  our  treatment  of 
commerce  be,  how  great  shall  our  gift  of  funds  to  other 
powers,  and,  therefore,  how  great  the  tribute  we  shall  pay  ? 
Consider  all  these,  and  you  can  not  but  say  that  our  sover¬ 
eignty  has  in  matters  of  national  life  and  death  been 
destroyed. 

Pause,  Mr.  President,  and  consider  what  it  is  proposed 
to  do — to  take  from  the  social  organism  not  alone  the  right 
but  the  power  of  self-defense.  We  shall  stand  not  only 
naked  but  bound  and  helpless. 

,Why,  sir,  it  is  contrary  to  the  eternal  course  of  nature, 
exhibited  in  all  her  works  since  the  dawn  of  time,  for  a 
defenseless  organism  to  survive,  whether  that  organism  be 
plant,  animal,  or  social.  How,  then,  shall  we  hope  to  live  ? 

107883—19347 


% 


33 


I  come  now  to  the  fourth  and  last  of  my  tests :  Will  this 
plan,  if  put  into  operation,  threaten  our  national  inde¬ 
pendence  and  life  ? 

Judged  by  all  the  standards  of  the  past,  by  history  and 
by  experience,  we  must  answer  that  it  does. 

It  threatens  our  life  in  respect  of  all  those  matters  in 
which  our  sovereignty  is  impaired,  because  when  sover¬ 
eignty  goes,  life  as  a  nation  goes.  Independence  goes 
when  our  conduct  is  dictated  by  others,  when  our  continued 
existence  depends  upon  the  will  of  others,  when  we  are 
no  longer  able  to  avail  ourselves  of  our  wonted  means  of 
defense,  actual  or  by  anticipation. 

That  under  this  plan  our  conduct  is  dictated  by  others 
can  not  be  gainsaid  when  we  recall  that  we  may  be 
launched  into  a  world-wide  war  without  the  power  of  de¬ 
termining  what  out  participation  shall  be,  either  in  men, 
armament,  or  money.  That  our  continued  existence  de¬ 
pends  on  the  will  of  others  is  clear  from  the  fact  that, 
disarmed  by  the  mandate  of  the  league,  we  shall  not  be 
permitted  to  increase  our  armament  save  by  the  consent 
of  the  executive  council,  no  matter  how  great  or  pressing 
the  emergency  or  the  danger. 

That  we  may  no  longer  avail  ourselves  of  our  wonted 
means  of  defense,  actual  or  by  anticipation,  is  not  to  be 
successfully  denied,  as  one  illustration  will  suffice  to  show. 

It  was  Thomas  Jefferson  who  said,  “  Our  first  and 
fundamental  maxim  should  be  never  to  entangle  ourselves 
in  the  broils  of  Europe ;  our  second,  never  to  suffer  Europe 
to  intermeddle  with  cis-Atlantic  affairs.”  On  this  latter 
principle  Monroe  announced  later  the  doctrine  which 
bears  his  name,  namely,  u  We  should  consider  any  attempt 
on  their  part — the  part  of  European  powers — to  extend 
their  systems  to  any  portion  of  this  hemisphere  as  danger- 

107883—  19347 


34 


bus  to  our  peace  and  safety  and,  “  We  could  not  view 
any  interposition  for  tlie  purpose  of  oppressing  them — the 
young  American  Republics — or  controlling  in  any  other 
manner  their  destiny  by  any  European  power  in  any  other 
light  than  as  the  manifestation  of  an  unfriendly  disposi¬ 
tion  toward  the  United  States.  ”  It  was  Secretary  Olney 
who  said,  “  To-day  the  United  States  is  practically  sover¬ 
eign  on  this  continent  and  its  fiat  is  law  upon  the  subjects 
to  which  it  confines  its  interposition.  ” 

To  say  that  the  elaborate  plan  now  before  us  which 
contemplates  and  provides  for  the  mastery  of  the  world 
does  not  run  counter  to  these  announced  principles,  is 
to  be  blind  to  the  plainest  meaning  of  plain  language. 
Moreover,  to  contend  that  this  great  doctrine,  which  em¬ 
bodies  a  vital  principle  of  policy  not  a  mere  tenet  of  inter¬ 
national  rule  or  law  is  saved  by  the  vague  and  general 
prescriptions  of  the  covenant  preamble  or  by  the  poorly 
worded  declarations  of  article  1,  is  either  to  convict  of 
a  failure  to  understand  the  question  or  of  a  deliberate 
attempt  to  impose  on  the  credulity  of  those  who  have  not 
had  opportunity  to  read  the  document  themselves.  No, 
Mr.  President,  if  we  adopt  this  plan  we  take  from  the 
Monroe  doctrine  its  life,  we  do  not  longer  control  the 
destinies  of  America,  and  the  great  national  security 
which  for  a  century  has  thereby  come  to  us,  has  gone, 
perhaps  forever. 

Thus  the  plan  fails  to  meet  each  and  every  of  the  tests 
I  have  applied.  It  does  not  abolish  or  prevent  wars  and 
it  does  sanction  and  commend  them.  It  does  strike 
down  great  constitutional  principles,  bulwarks  of  our  pro¬ 
tection.  It  does  rob  us  of  the  utmost  vital  attributes  of 
sovereignty.  It  does  threaten  our  independence  and  life. 

Why,  then,  and  I  ask  it  in  all  sincerity,  this  feverish 

107383—19347 


35 


anxiety  for  the  adoption  of  this  plan  ?  Why  is  there  this 
racing  np  and  down  over  the  face  of  the  whole  land  by 
propagandists  urging  its  adoption?  What  benefit  is  to 
come  from  such  a  sale  of  country  as  is  urged  upon  us? 
Who  are  the  beneficiaries  of  this  betrayal  of  our  people? 
No  nation  threatens  us;  no  group  of  nations  seeks  our  de¬ 
struction  ;  never  before  were  we  relatively  so  strong.  War 
itself,  the  great  curse  of  mankind,  is  further  away  to-day 
than  it  has  been  in  centuries.  Have  we  shown  ourselves 
recreant  when  the  world  labors  big  with  potential  disas¬ 
ter  ?  Let  our  billions  of  treasure  poured  out  as  from  per¬ 
petual  fountains,  our  tens  of  thousands  of  young  lives 
nobly  sacrificed  in  a  great  cause,  answer.  Has  famine 
failed  to  appeal  to  us  ?  Count  the  millions  of  tons  of  food 
we  send  to  feed  the-  starving.  Have  we  been  deaf  to  the 
cry  of  the  oppressed?  Count  our  young  men  in  France. 
Have  we  failed  to  love  liberty  and  humanity  better  than 
life  itself  ?  Ask  the  mothers  whose  sons  lie  on  the  battle¬ 
fields  of  Europe. 

Can  we  not  be  trusted  again  to  come  to  the  rescue  when 
again  popular  government,  civilization,  and  human  right 
threaten  to  be  overwhelmed  ?  I  challenge  any  man  or  na¬ 
tion  to  say  nay.  Why,  then,  this  plan  to  strangle  and 
crush  us?  Mr.  President,  there  is  here  something  amiss. 
We  stand  here  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  and 
soberly  and  anxiously,  debate,  plan,  and  consider,  not  as 
did  our  fathers  before  us,  on  how  can  we  best  preserve  and 
augment  our  liberties  and  make  ourselves  and  our  pos¬ 
terity  free  men,  but  on  the  dark  and  gloomy  problem, 
what  is  the  greatest  bondage  which  we  can  put  on  our 
backs  and  live. 

“  But,”  we  are  told,  “  look  at  the  mighty  wastage,  the 
sorrow,  the  suffering  and  agony,  the  slavery,  and  the  death 

107883—19347 


36 


of  this  great  universal  war — is  there  not  some  way  to  pre¬ 
vent  the  world  from  being  again  so  cursed?  Our  indus¬ 
trial  and  economic  relations  we  can  cover  by  separate  trade 
agreements  with  individual  countries,  but  can  we  not  do 
something  to  avert  the  horrors  of  war?  ” 

Yes;  there  are  ways,  some  of  them  simple  and  well  tried. 

One  way  is  to  provide  for  the  compulsory  arbitration  of 
all  disputes  under  some  such  plan  as  that  provided  for  in 
the  international  prize  court,  or  the  unratified  Ameriean- 
British  and  American-French  arbitration  treaties  of  1911, 
or  the  Olney-Pauncefote  treaty  of  1897,  or  a  union  of  the 
best  in  all  of  them. 

We  need  not  worry  about  the  enforcement  of  the  awards 
of  the  arbitral  court,  for  I  recall  no  case  between  great 
powers  in  which  an  award  made  has  not  either  been  carried 
out  as  given  or  has  not  led  to  an  adjustment  mutually  satis¬ 
factory  to  both  parties.  We  may  forget  armed  force  in 
this  and  look  to  the  reign  of  law  and  order.  If  small  States 
should  be  recalcitrant  as  between  themselves,  means  of  per¬ 
suasion  can  be  found  that  will  satisfy  all  needs. 

This  will  adjust  peacefully  the  great  bulk  of  our  dis¬ 
putes,  including  questions  of  territorial  extent  and  thus 
prevent  war.  We  had  the  proud  privilege,  by  the  Jay 
treaty  of  1794  with  Great  Britain,  to  usher  in  “  the  modern 
era  of  arbitration.”  From  then  till  the  present,  almost  a 
century  and  a  quarter,  arbitration  has  saved  us  from  all  but 
three  relatively  small  international  wars,  barring  this  last, 
and  compulsory  arbitration  might  have  saved  us  even  this. 
Let  us  not  discard  or  think  lightly  of  arbitration  as  a  means 
of  preventing  war. 

A  second  way  would  be  this:  If  we  feel  that  world 
interests  and  power  are  reshaping  in  such  way  that  we 
need  to  be  protected  and  that  we  need  to  protect  others, 

107883—19347 


37 


then  let  ns  form  an  allliance  with  the  strongest  other 
power  or  two  powers  of  the  world  for  mutual  protection. 
That  we  he  not  thrown  into  quarrels  in  which  we  would 
have  no  sympathy,  we  must  choose  as  our  allies  those 
powers  whose  traditions,  institutions,  ideals,  and  people 
are  most  like  our  own.  If  we  are  as  ready  to  fight  for 
them  as  we  will  be — under  the  present  supposition — to 
have  them  fight  for  us,  let  us  make  this  as  strong  an 
alliance  as  can  be  written,  because  from  a  shadowy  one 
we  shall  have  all  the  disadvantages  and  few  of  the  advan- 
tages  of  a  strong  one.  In  either  event,  such  a  definite 
understanding  between  ourselves  and  our  allies  will  ob¬ 
viously  and  inevitably  drive  the  balance  of  the  world  into 
a  counter  alliance,  which  can  not  but  bring  trouble  in  the 
future. 

Or,  in  the  third  place,  if  the  people  of  the  United 
States — not  a  clamorous  part  of  them,  but  a  great  ma- 
jority — desire  to  establish  a  true  league  of  nations;  if 
they  feel  either  the  need  or  the  desirability  of  creating  an 
organization  to  stop  war  and  not  merely  to  build  a  coali¬ 
tion  to  further  trade  or  to  preserve  and  expand  terri¬ 
torial  possessions ;  and  if  so  feeling,  and  to  this  end  they 
are  willing,  to  make  the  present  necessary  sacrifice  in 
independence  and  sovereignty  and  the  inevitable  future 
sacrifice  of  untold  American  treasure  and  life,  then  we 
may  proceed  as  follows : 

At  a  convenient  and  proper  time  in  the  relatively  near 
future  we  shall  cooperate  with  the  representatives  of  all 
the  other  powers  in  the  formation  among  all,  not  a  por¬ 
tion,  of  the  nations  of  the  world  an  international  league. 
Among  the  first  articles  of  the  constitution  which  shall 
create  this  league  should  be  one  which  shall  provide  that 
war  is  thereby  declared  to  be  an  international  crime  and 

107883—19347 


38 


that  any  nation  engaging  in  war,  except  in  self-defense 
when  actually  attacked,  shall  be  punished  by  the  world 

as  an  international  criminal. 

Tli is  constitution  should  also  provide  that  all  disputes 

relating  to  international  matters  as  defined  by  an  inter¬ 
national  code  should  be  decided  by  an  international  court. 

The  code  would  define  what  war  is  and  would  discrimi¬ 
nate  between  aggressive  and  defensive  war,  between  as¬ 
sault  and  protection,  and  would  outlaw  one  and  not  the 
other,  for  no  system  of  law  ever  enacted  or  wisely  pro¬ 
jected  has  penalized  self-defense  by  man  or  by  State. 
Existence  ceases  when  the  right  and  power  of  self-defense 
is  gone. 

This  code  would  also  provide  that  one  nation  could  not 
jsummon  another  before  the  international  court,  except  in 
respect  to  a  matter  of  international  and  common  concern 
to  the  contending  nations,  and  that  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
court  would  not  extend  to  matters  of  governmental  23olicy, 
which  would  be  excluded  from  arbitration  unless  one  of 
the  disputing  parties  had  by  treaty  or  otherwise  given  an¬ 
other  country  a  claim  that  might  involve  these  subjects. 
Under  such  a  code  we  would  not  be  called  upon  to  arbitrate 
the  policy  involved  in  our  Monroe  doctrine,  our  conserva¬ 
tion  policy,  our  immigration  policy,  our  right  to  expel 
aliens,  our  right  to  repel  invasion,  our  right  to  maintain 
military  and  naval  establishments,  or  coaling  stations 
within  our  own  borders  or  elsewhere,  as  the  protection  and 
development  of  this  country  might  demand,  our  right  to 
make  necessary  fortification  of  the  Panama  Canal,  or  on 
our  frontiers,  our  right  to  discriminate  between  natives 
and  foreigners  in  respect  to  rights  of  property  and  citi¬ 
zenship,  and  other  matters  of  like  character. 

107383 — 19317 


39 


The  international  court  should  be  authorized  by  the 
league  constitution  to  call  upon  the  powers  signatory  to 
enforce  its  decrees  and  awards  as  against  unwilling 
States  by  force,  economic  pressure,  or  otherwise. 

The  court  should  sit  in  the  hemisphere  of  the  contending 
nations;  and  if  the  disputants  lived  in  opposite  hemi¬ 
sphere,  then  in  the  hemisphere  of  the  defendant  power. 

The  constitution  should  further  provide  that  if  it  were 
necessary  to  enforce  a  decree  against  an  American  power 
refusing  to  follow  the  decree  of  the  court  that  such  decree 
should  be  enforced  by  the  countries  of  this  hemisphere ; 
that  if  a  decree  of  the  court  must  be  enforced  against  a 
country  of  the  Eastern  Hemisphere,  then  it  should  be  by 
such  means  and  methods  and  by  such  forces  and  powers 
as  the  court  and  the  powers  of  that  hemisphere  should 
decide. 

A  league  framed  on  these  broad  lines  would  carry  with 
it  a  minimum  of  loss  of  our  sovereignty;  it  would  relieve 
us  from  participation  in  the  broils  of  Europe;  it  would 
preserve  the  Monroe  doctrine  and  save  America  from  the 
results  of  European  aggression  and  intrigue ;  it  would  re¬ 
duce  to  the  minimum  the  causes  of  war ;  and  would  make 
the  waging  thereof  otherwise  than  in  self-defense  when  at¬ 
tacked  a  public  crime,  punishable  by  the  combined  forces 
of  the  world. 

But,  Mr.  President,  these  are  not  the  problems  which 
now  press  urgently  upon  us.  As  I  have  recently  proposed 
to  the  Senate,  let  us  have  an  end  of  all  this.  Let  the  dis¬ 
cussion  of  a  league  of  nations  be  postponed  for  later  con¬ 
sideration  not  alone  by  the  victorious  belligerents  but  by 
all  the  nations  if  and  when  at  some  future  time  a  general 
conference  on  this  subject  may  be  both  possible  and  useful. 
Professing  as  we  do  to  have  all  humanity  for  our  concern, 

107883—19347 


40 


let  us  not  in  our  league  outlaw  a  great  part  of  the  civilized 
world.  Let  us  see  to  it  that  this  league  which  is  to  usher 
in  a  reign  of  righteousness  upon  the  earth  shall  comprise 
all  peoples  that  dwell  upon  it,  including  our  regenerated, 
democratized  enemy. 

Meanwhile  our  cobelligerents  need  have  no  anxiety,  for 
so  surely  as  the  sun  rises  if  the  Hun  flood  again  threatened 
to  engulf  the  world,  we  shall  again  be  found  fighting  for 
the  right,  with  the  same  complete  accord  and  cooperation 
as  in  the  past,  all  for  the  defense  of  civilization. 

And  why  should  this  be  our  course,  because,  Mr.  Presi¬ 
dent,  a  million  and  a  half  of  our  boys  are  marking  time  in 
Europe,  waiting  patiently,  anxiously,  their  eyes  turned 
across  the  water,  for  the  signing  of  the  treaty  of  peace  that 
shall  allow  them  to  return  to  the  homeland,  to  the  family 
hearths  which  need  them  and  which  they  need.  How  much 
longer  shall  their  return  wait  on  academic  discussion  of 
unattainable  dreams?  How  much  longer  shall  they  for 
this  suffer  exposure  and  hardship  and  endure  disease? 
How  many  more  of  them  must  die  “  over  there  ”?  While 
the  Hun  thrust  forth  his  cruel,  blood-thirsty  hulk,  they 
gladly  abode  there  and  gave  their  all,  even  to  life  itself, 
but  now  that  he  cowers,  like  a  whipped  cur  in  his  kennel, 
they  feel  that  their  work  is  finished.  They  want  to  come 
home. 

Remembering  what  they  have  given,  what  they  were 
willing  to  give,  and  what  their  dead  comrades  have  given ; 
remembering  the  wan-faced  waiting  mothers,  wives,  and 
children ;  remembering  the  wrack,  the  weariness,  and  the 
heartache  of  it  all,  we  must  find  a  way  to  grant  their  scant 
but  deep-felt  wish. 

107883—19347 

o 


